Her Pink Skirt
by SuicidalToeSocks
Summary: Three years after their departure in Iron Island, Dawn and Riley meet up again, each with new experiences and stories added to their history. But Dawn still thinks she's treated like a kid, even at age sixteen... Sequel to "His Blue Hat," Ironwillshipping


**A/N: This is a story for the super-awesome Shizuka Suzuhara,** **who reviewed 'His Blue Hat' twice! She requested another story for this ship, so I granted her wish. It's kinda pretty much a sequel... As if the title didn't give you enough of a hint. **

**Shizuka Suzuhara, you need to get a fanfiction account or AIM account or something so we can talk, because I want to reply to you but I can't because you're anonymous! D:**

Three years. Three long years I waited since we met. But not a day passed when she didn't cross my mind. Her stunning smile, her irreplaceable talent, her remarkable confidence, and her burning blush. I can picture her now as vividly as the day I met her.

I was just being silly though, I thought. She and I had met for maybe three hours, tops. I would be lucky if she even remembered my name, if the off-chance came when we met again. In fact, I was willing to bet she'd forgotten that I would even be waiting for her when she became the Champion. I even made it a habit to check out who made it to the Champion of Sinnoh every month, to see if she was there. She never was. I stopped checking after a year and a half.

Even as I told myself this, I couldn't bring myself to leave the Battle Zone. Around the Battle Tower, I stayed in a house with this nice old woman who was renting it out to me. And while it was nice, I suddenly realized one day that I'd have to have my own place if she would ever come... so I went out and bought myself an apartment with the money I'd saved up from my wins in the Tower. Still, I never saw the one face I was looking for. Still, I waited.

I knew it was hopeless. I'd told myself a million times, as I fell asleep at night, that I'd call and turn in my two weeks notice and leave my apartment. And then I'd wake up in the morning and see the bright day, and a new ray of hope would change my mind instantly. It was an endless, torturous cycle.

And one day, I was able to break free.

It was a freezing morning when I woke up. Sinnoh, being the coldest of the four regions, was generally known for this kind of weather, especially in the winter. But today was different. Snow littered the ground up to the middle of my shins!

I was in a great mood at this. The snow lifted my spirits from the downers of convincing myself to move out last night. I changed my clothes appropriately to fit the weather this morning. My pants I tucked into a pair of black boots, and my jacket was changed to a thicker one, one that kept out the biting wind. I put on my hat, touching the brim once where her fingers had been on my old one, remembering. But I tried to keep my mood happy as I left my cozy little home and made my way over to the Battle Tower to start my morning routine.

And I stopped dead, right outside the glass doors. I cupped my hands around my eyes and peered in, hoping what I saw was real.

There was a girl standing at the counter, with one ankle crossed daintily behind the other as she leaned forward on the counter top, looking down at the receptionist in what I knew would be a curious stare. She wore a pair of bright pink boots, black socks that covered her knees, and a bright pink skirt. One that looked much shorter since the last time I saw it...

I quickly made my way inside and wrapped the navy scarf around my neck a bit tighter, then turned and lingered a ways behind the girl, just to make sure it was who I thought it was.

"I'm sorry, all our openings in the Battle Tower are booked for today." the receptionist, whom I knew was called Elissa, smiled. She was getting booked, now that it was vacation season. The girl sighed extremely loud.

"All right. Can I get a reservation for tomorrow?" she asked. Elissa the Receptionist smiled and nodded.

"We have one opening." she said. "Who should I book it for?"

"Dawn!" the girl said excitedly. My face split into an enormous grin. "Dawn and Riolu."

I released a heavy breath I hadn't realized I was holding. It was her! Three long years... and she was finally here!

"Got it." said Elissa, then turned to another customer. As Dawn bent to gather her stuff, I strode up behind her, straining my mind to think of a clever opening line, one she would remember on the spot. One that would make her turn that cute shade of bright pink once more.

"Stupid balls, get in there!" she mumbled to her bag, which was filled already with her things, let alone her pokeballs.

Yet, the only thing I could think to say was neither sophisticated nor suave. It was 'That's what she said.' Some opening line that would be.

"Not a little girl anymore, huh Dawn?" I asked, stopping just in front of her. She froze for a moment, and I could see she was staring at my feet through her bangs, trying to see who I was before she made a fool of herself with introductions. And suddenly, she snapped herself up to a standing position, her eyes wide and shining with a joy I hadn't seen in years. Her face could barely contain the grin it held.

"Riley! Oh my gosh, it's really you!" she said, diving at me and wrapping her arms around my chest. "I can't believe it, I haven't seen you in years!" she looked up at me, and her cheeks were tinted that pink again. That adorable pink that matched her skirt perfectly. I put my arms around her and smiled warmly down... Three years had not changed our height differences, and her head still came just to the bottom of my chin. She buried her head against my chest again and I could just barely make out the whisper that escaped her lips, "You waited for me."

I hugged her tighter, then pushed away and held her at arm's length to get a better look at her. She was taller, but so was I. Her legs were longer too. And her figure... much more shapely than that thirteen year old girl I met the first time. She filled out and curved much more nicely now... But I was more interested in other things. Her face was much more mature now, not the childish one I remembered. Her eyes were deeper, much more intense. It was hard to stare into them for too long, I realized. She was different than I remembered, yet the same. It would take a bit of getting used to. She broke our gaze and looked to the side.

"You've grown up so much." she said quietly. I dropped my arms.

"You have too." She wouldn't meet my eye, even if I could have held it. I guess some things don't change with her after all. Her slight shyness still seemed to remain. It calmed me, somewhat. I smiled again.

"It's cold. You want to go get some hot chocolate? I know this great coffee shop that has some great stuff." I offered before I could stop myself. Did I really just do that? Offer her a date within the first five minutes of seeing her, after three years apart? Riley, I thought, you're losing your touch, man.

Her face split into a wide grin and she looked up at me. "I'd love that." she answered. "Lead the way, _maestro_." And then, she weaved her hand through my arm and clasped on, looking up at me expectantly. I smiled down at her. I hadn't done that much smiling in years, I realized. It made my chest sing something sweet to the rest of my body, something that warmed up every part of me. I walked her to the door, held it open, and led her out into the cold.

And then it occurred to me...

"Why aren't you wearing pants?" I asked. "It's below freezing and snowing outside, and you're only in that little thing!" I gestured to her skirt. She looked up at me with a look I'd never seen in her eyes before. What was it? I saw embarrassment. I saw happiness. I saw unsureness. But that last emotion I couldn't name...

"Oh, this old thing? It was the only one in my size left." she said, swishing it around a couple times by twisting her hips. "It _is_ a little short, but you get used to it after a while." She looked up at me again. There was more of that new emotion this time, pushing aside some of the unsureness. "But sometimes, it's nice to have a little breeze now and again, you know?" I swallowed. Hard.

"Sure, but in snowy weather?" I asked, wondering why in the world _my_ face seemed to be heating up in this cold temperature. "I mean, you could freeze to death!"

"Is this the place?" she asked, completely ignoring my statement. I decided to just go with it and nodded. "Cute little place!"

"May I escort you in?" I asked her with a mock accent she seemed to enjoy. She giggled and returned my bow with a nod of her head.

"Why certainly, Sir Riley." she said, walking through the doors into the brightly-lit little coffee shop I had been to numerous times before. We picked a small little booth next to a window and she sat down on the seat opposite me, on the evergreen pleather upholstery. I smiled as she looked around, taking in all the sights. Black, wrought-iron chairs with the same green pads on the seat sat at dark-wooded tabletops, held up by legs made of the same wrought-iron. Currently, there were many strands of evergreen hung around the shop in spirit of the season, and there were even lights strung around the iron beams that went across the ceiling, where they hung down like icicles. Dawn sighed in content as the old owner, Madelyn, bustled up to us happily.

"Riley! I haven't seen you in at least a week, what can I get for you today?" she asked kindly, squinting through her tiny glasses, held on to her face by a pink-beaded string that went around her neck, and pulling a notepad out of her breast pocket. I smiled back. This old woman had started this business years ago, and she quickly became a favorite among the large Island. I held up a couple of fingers.

"Two hot chocolates." I said. "One with extra whipped cream, please."

"Two, actually!" piped up Dawn, who had come back to reality. Madelyn looked at her with a little surprise, then back at me with a knowing, grandmotherly look in her eye.

"Riley, who's your friend?" she winked at me. I laughed and rubbed my neck, just a tad embarrassed. She knew every regular customer by name, and it was no doubt a thrill to see someone she knew come in with someone new once in a while. She was going to love this one, then...

"Madelyn, this is Dawn, the girl I told you about before." I said. Her wrinkled face split into a wide grin. She definitely remembered the nights I had spent at her bar, (open from six to ten PM,) where I had sat in a hopeless stupor, retelling her the stories of Dawn and my worries of her forgetting to come to the Battle Area, as my invitation suggested.

"Ah, so this is the girl I've heard so much about." she said kindly and knowingly. "Well, Riley, you've really snagged a cute one here, so don't let her get away like last time, got it?" she winked at Dawn, then scratched a couple notes on her pad. "Two hot chocolates with extra whipped cream, coming up." And she went off to greet another table. Dawn turned to me curiously, an eyebrow raised.

"You told people about me?"

"Yeah, well, I had to brag about you to someone, didn't I?" I said. "There was no way I could have kept you a secret for three years, you know."

"Speaking of bragging," Dawn said suddenly, leaning in to the middle of the table, "have I got a story for you!" The last part was whispered, to keep others from eavesdropping. I leaned in as well, interested.

"Yes?"

"So, you remember those Team Galactic members we stopped last time, right?" she asked. I nodded. "Well, their leader, Cyrus, was out to destroy the world, to get rid of the evil in it. So he captured the three legendary beings, Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit, and made them call up Dialga and Palkia!"

"Wait, you know this how?" I asked. Her face lit up at this.

"Because I was there!" she said, her voice higher than usual. "I saw all five of them!" My eyes widened, but she didn't give me a chance ask any questions, she just plowed on. "And I beat Team Galactic by myself, and then Mesprit just kind of looked at me, then giggled and teleported away, like it was playing with me! But then, Palkia disappeared, but Dialga didn't! Can you imagine? The Being of Time, stayed to thank me! And it even let me battle it!"

"Back up." I said, holding up a hand. "You mean you actually _battled_ the Creator of Time, Dialga?" I shook my head. She couldn't be serious. "There's no way–" I was cut off by Dawn showing a pokeball under my nose, the transparent red dome showing me a miniaturized Dialga, who looked up at me with his pair of red eyes. I pushed myself back from the ball, startled.

"And I caught him, too!" she whispered proudly. The Dialga gave a small little roar inside his ball and I swore I even heard it purr as Dawn rubbed it against her cheek affectionately. This girl never ceased to amaze me.

"I can't believe you, Dawn." I said as she put her partner away in her bag. "You've grown up so much since I last saw you. Three years has done a world of difference to you."

"But I'm still treated the same." she said, pouting. I looked her up and down. Who could ever treat this girl like a child now, as the Champion of the Pokemon League, the owner of a legendary pokemon, and the defeater of Team Galactic? "That's part of the reason why I didn't stay in the League as the Champion. In every room, by every member, they acted as if I were a little girl. I was told 'We're the big dogs,' 'This isn't going to be like every little battle with your friends on the playground,' and 'You remind me of my little granddaughter when she wanted to challenge the Pokemon League.' I'm not a little girl! I'm sixteen, for Arceus's sake!" Dawn folded her arms and sat back against the booth, but straightened up and thanked Madelyn politely when she brought our hot chocolate. I cupped mine in both hands and took a gulp, breathing heavily when the hot liquid went down my throat. I looked up, and Dawn had just finished taking a gulp of hers. However, unlike me, she had a fluffy white mustache of whipped cream on her upper lip, and even a little dot on the tip of her nose.

"Um, Dawn, you seem to have a little something there." I said, holding in a laugh and gesturing with my hands to her face. She looked down, smiled, and then looked back at me. Her eyes changed again, back to that weird emotion mixed with the other familiars.

"Thanks." she said simply, then stuck out her tongue and licked it up. However, the way she did it was different. Slow, deliberate, and I even caught a bit of that emotion pushing aside even more of the unsureness in her eyes. When she was finished, I was left wondering why the shop seemed to be much warmer than usual. Dawn seemed satisfied. However, she still had a little bit on the tip of her nose.

"You've, uh, still got a little on your nose–" I said, but her tongue reached up and flicked that off too. I was impressed with such talent. I knew my tongue wasn't long enough.

"I can't touch my tongue to my nose." I said. "I'm impressed. That's quite the talent."

"I've got a pretty talented tongue." she said matter-of-factly. I blinked. Was it just me, or was there a double meaning to that sentence..? To cover the silence, I took another gulp of my hot chocolate.

"Come on, I want to go outside!" she said suddenly, setting her empty mug down on the table and running to the door. I saw Madelyn shake her head behind the counter, amused. So I just grinned sheepishly and set my money down on the counter, plus her tip, and headed out the door with Dawn into the snow.

And immediately, I was pelted in the face by a snowball.

"Ha, got you." Dawn said, sticking out her tongue. But she failed to see my scooping up some snow of my own and lobbing it her way, nailing her in the chest. She proceeded to hop up and down, trying to shake out any snow that had crawled down into her shirt. It wasn't my fault it was cut so low, after all. Not that I was going to complain, mind you...

"No fair, no fair!" she yelped. "That's seriously really cold!"

"Maybe you should get some pants then!" I called back, then ducked another snowball. I laughed and ran in the direction of my apartment, Dawn following close behind. We both ran up the stairs now, our snowball fight turning into more of a race now than anything. I stopped when I skidded to a halt in front of my front door, Dawn coming up close behind. I could see without a doubt that she was shivering uncontrollably.

"Here, let's get you in here and dried off, Dawn." I said when she reached me. "You're freezing up."

"T-thank you." she said, chattering. I opened the door and welcomed the wave of heat that washed over us both. I ushered her in and sat her on my couch and wrapped her in a blanket, then quickly pulled off my own boots and sat them by the heater, then stripped off my jacket and hung it over the back of one of my kitchen chairs. She looked up at me, her nose still cherry red from the activity in the snow.

"I like that shirt on you." she said truthfully. I looked down at myself. A simple black turtleneck? Really? But I wasn't going to raise any arguments. And when I looked back at Dawn, she was letting the blanket fall off of her bare shoulders slowly. I saw that look in her eye again, in full force.

"Uh, Dawn?"

"It's a really nice look for you." she said, referring to the shirt. She pushed herself on to her hands and knees now, in front of me. I pushed into the arm of the couch, heart panging. That was the look; seduction. "Of course, you'd probably look just as nice without it, though." I gulped, and she advanced closer, eyes burning under half-lidded lashes. I felt my own face heating up as hers had done so many times before. "I think maybe we ought to see." She was nearly on top of me now, her arms on either side of my waist, and I was pushed against the couch as far as I would go. This wasn't Dawn, this was _not_ how she usually acted!

"D-Dawn?" I asked. She put a finger to my lips to silence them.

"Shh, don't speak."

"Dawn, what's going on?" I asked. And then suddenly, her spell was broken. She sat back against my raised knees and her face shone the reddest of blushes. I didn't get it.

"I... I was being an adult." she said. "I did that to make up for the childish moments I guess I still get. That's what adults do when they like someone, don't they?" And suddenly, her hands flew to her mouth when she realized what she said, almost as if she could catch them and pull the words back in again. I paused for a moment, when the reality of her words sank in, and then laughed, loud and long.

"Dawn," I said, "you don't need to pretend to be an adult." I held her shoulders lightly. "There isn't an adult out there that could have walked the path you did like you. You've beaten the Elite Four and stopped Team Galactic single-handedly, and you even have a Legendary pokemon to show for it. Name one adult that has done that before."

"Well..."

"And besides," I moved my hands from her shoulders to cup her face. "if you liked me, you just had to say so." And this time, I didn't wimp out and just peck her cheek. This time, I closed my eyes and brought her face towards mine and kissed her full on the mouth. I felt her cold hands close over mine, just for one, disbelieving moment, and then felt her press back gently in response to me. And when we pulled away at last, I knew we both had identical blushes on our cheeks.

"Does that answer your question?" I asked her. She nodded, then smirked a little at me.

"Except, I'm not going to leave my skirt as a parting gift like you did with your hat." she said with a giggle.

**A/N: Dawn being all seductive was SUPPOSED to feel rushed, I promise. That isn't me being a bad writer. **

**Still, I'm not too proud of how this turned out. It could have been better, but my laptop is broken, so the file I had of it I had to rewrite all over again so I could post it. So don't be expecting too much out of me for a while here while I'm waiting for my files to get transferred to the big computer.**

**Hope you like it, Shizuka Suzuhara!**

**(Remember what I said, get AIM or give me an email or something so I can reply and thank you!)**


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